The pain of what happened on September 11th, 2001 has not subsided. We can put the tragedy of what took place on that day out of our minds, but we can never put it out of our hearts.

Every single day, Americans are still dying because of 9/11. Their lives continue to raise the death toll of that tragic day.

Let’s take some time to remember those victims and honor them. Let’s also take a few minutes to remember and honor those who still put their lives on the line every single waking hour, so that we here at home can go on living our lives and rebuilding the dreams that perished on that fateful day.

Tens of thousands of servicemen and women, don’t have the luxury of going online each morning to see what place their team is in the standings, or to read and write blogs about their favorite teams. They risk their lives so that millions of us can enjoy these simple pleasures.

The best way to honor the fallen is to go on living our lives and cherishing the freedom for which they died defending.

The best way to honor the heroes who still fight to preserve our way of life, is to live our lives in a manner that is worth defending, and to reflect the values and the virtues of being an American, every single day.

Freedom and liberty can mean a million different things to a million different people, but there is one common truth that our differences cannot dissuade. Freedom is as fragile or as strong as the will of those who are willing to defend it.

Support our troops, remember September 11th, and be proud to be American.

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Nice Joe. I remember it like it was yesterday. I live in NY, about 30 miles north of NYC. Crystal clear morning is what I remember. Deep blue sky and not a cloud to be seen. I was at work that morning like many others when we heard about the first plane. We set up a TV in an office and watched. Eyes glued to the TV. Around noon there were reports that bridges in our area would be closed. Since I need to cross one of those bridges to get back home I decided to leave the office. I really thought the roads would be packed, but they weren’t. On a clear day like it was that day you can see the George Washington Bridge along with the NYC skyline as you cross the bridge I go across. As I crossed the bridge that day and looked to my left towards NYC I could see the blue sky filled with smoke over NYC and you could almost smell it as well. I guess at that point everything became real and very close to me. I thought about what must be going on down there.Needless to say I wanted to get home to my family. Of course we watched the news all night long. My kids were young and really didn’t understand what was happening. As we sat and ate dinner that night you could not help but notice the unusual quiet outside due to the order to ground all flights. Except for one helicopter late in the evening flying overhead, followed by an air force fighter jet following it. We learned the next day that some kind of county government person had a helicopter fly him home from Albany without clearance. A fighter jet was sent up to shoot him down if the helicopter did not identify itself. Of course I could never confirm all of this, but to see the fighter jet fly over my development was such a site.
I made it down to the World Trade center site a year later and of course at that point the area was cleaned of all the rubble and there was nothing except a big hole in the ground. We collected all the magazines and newspapers from the weeks and months that followed. I watch all the shows that come on every year on 9/11. Even as I write this I’m watching a 9/11 special. So many lives lost and for no reason. The day will of course always be remembered for those who lost their lives, those who tried to save lives, those who saved lives and those who lost their lives trying to save others. I watch these 9/11 specials and listen to the stories and just shake my head in amazement that it happened even eight years later.

DVD’s that I feel capture everything about that day…
In Memoriam, an HBO special with Rudy Giuliani
9/11, a special which features two brothers doing a documentary on rookie firefighters
World Trade Center, an Oliver Stone movie with Nicholas Cage

A 9/11 book that I believe is a must read…
Last Man Down, about FDNY Battalion Commander Richard Picciotto